Card Range To Study

33 Cards in this Set

the process by which we take raw sensations from the environment and interpret them, using our kowledge and understanding of the world, so that they become meaningful experiences.

Perception

to perceptions argues that the environment holds many clues that allow us to percieve our surroundings

ecological approach

to perception holds that we construct reality by putting together raw bits of sensory information. our expectations of reality influence our perceptions

contructivist approach

to perception holds that perception is the result of nervous system activity that modifies and processes raw sensations into reality

computational approach

is the study of the relationship between the physical characteristics of environmental stimuli and the conscious psychological experiences that those stimuli produce

psychophysics

the smount of stimulus evergy necessary for a stimulus to be detected 50 percent of the time

absolute threshold

fall below the absolute threshold and this are not usually detected

subliminal stimuli

is mathematical model that can help explain why a person does or doesn't detect a a stimulus. this model attributes perception to stimulus sensitivity and response criterion

signal-detection theory

is the ability to detect a stimulus. this capacity is influenced by internal neural noise, the intensity of the stimulusm and how well a person's nervous system is working

sensitivity

a person's willingness or reluctance to respond to a stimulus. a bias in either direction is created by changes in expectancy and motivation

repsonse criterion

is the smalles difference in stimulus enregy that can be detected

just-noticable difference

states that the amount of stimulus that you have to ass before you just notice a difference or change in that stimulus depends od and is proportional to the original amount of the stimulus.

weber's law

is initially performed by the perceptual system to determine what stimuli go together to form an object. it is guided by figure-ground processing. the figure is that part of the visual field that has meaning and stands out from the rest of the stimulus. the rest of the visual field is the ground

perceptual organization

usually detected because they are above the absolute threshold

supraminal stimuli

is the perceptual process of representing and interpreting sounds. sounds are divided based on pitch, loudness, and location into seperate streams, which are sounds perceived as coming from the same source

auditory scene analysis

is the perception of distance, one of the most important factors underlying size and shape constancy

depth percpetion

in a stimulus cue for depth perception. objects that are closer block a complete view of objects farther away.

interposition

is a stimulus cue for depth perception. objects that are larger are perceived as being nearer

relative size

a stimulus cue for depth perception. objects that are higher in the visual field are perceived as more distant that objects lower in the visual field

height in the visual field

stimulus cues for depth perception. a graduated changed in the texture, or "grain" of the visual field indicated distance

texture gradients

is a stimulus due for depth perception. parallel lines that stretch out into the distance seems to converge, or come together, at a point. a stimulus is farther away as is approaches the point of convergance.

linear perspective

provides cues to the differences in the distance of carious objects

motion parallax

is the distance cue that results from the lens of the eye changing shape to bring an image into focus

accomodation

is a depth perception cue. the closer an object is, the more your eyes must turn inward to focus on it. your brain uses information from the muscles that move your eyes inward to perceice depth.

convergance

is the difference between the two retinal images and tells the brain about depth. the greater the difference is between the two images, the closer an object is

binocular disperity

is a motion cue. objects that enlarge quickly so they fill the retina are perceived as moving toward the viewer instead of just growing in size.

looming

is an illustion in thich we perceive continual movement from a series of still images flashed in a rapid succession.

stroboscopic motion

is the ability to perceive sameness even when the object on the retina changes. we have perceptual constancy for size, shape, and brightness

perceptual constancy

refers to aspects of recognition that being at the "top" of the brain, guided by higher-level cognitive processes and by psychological factors such as expectations and motivation

top-down processing

refers to aspects of recognition that depend primarily on the brain's recpetion of stimulus information from sensory receptors

bottom-up processing

mental models of what we know, which are created based on experience.

schemas

suggest that recognition of objects is based on the simultaneous operation of connected neural units that are connected neural units that are activated when matched by features in the stimulus.

parallel distributed processing

the process of directing psychological resources to enhance information processing